Here's why Locust Road was closed for part of Thursday

If you had to take a detour around Locust Road on Thursday in Decorah, it's because crews were working to determine just what shape the current roadbed is in.

Workers from Terracon, an employee-owned consulting engineering firm with offices in Iowa, were on the scene Thursday morning with a piece of equipment which had GPR--"Ground Penetrating Radar."

The unit sends electromagnetic waves into the ground.  It then analyzes the signals that bounce back to get a reading of the subsurface of a road.  Terracon's Phillip Sinclair says it's especially important to learn if there are any holes or other voids beneath the surface of the road.

Crews took five different trips on Locust Road from College Drive to Highland Drive.  The information gathered by Terracon crews on Thursday now will be combined into aerial views of the road for use when making plans for the Locust Road construction project next year.